The Best Monkey Bread
This pull-apart monkey bread is ooey, gooey, and full of buttery cinnamon sugar goodness. The from-scratch dough is so easy to work with!
Monkey bread is a delight that I fully believe everyone should experience. This easy, homemade version is one of our go-to holiday breakfasts. Think of it like a pull-apart cinnamon roll!
Easy-to-Worth-With Dough
Many versions of monkey bread call for using canned biscuit dough. No disrespect to those versions, but making a homemade dough is a game changer for monkey bread.
This dough is simple to make a dream to work with!
- Make the dough and let it rise until doubled
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured or greased countertop and pat into a thick square or rectangle.
- Cut the dough into 64 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece into a round shape (doesn’t have to be perfect!)
If you end up with a few more or a few less pieces, no biggie. If the pieces aren’t all exactly uniform and resemble dented ping pong balls rather than perfectly round balls, again, no biggie! A rustic attempt is a totally valid attempt here, because it all works out in the end.
Assembling Monkey Bread
Dip the dough pieces in melted butter followed by a roll in cinnamon + brown sugar.
You don’t have to do this one at a time. It works to pile a bunch of dough pieces in the melted butter, let the excess butter drip off, and then load those buttered pieces over to the cinnamon and sugar bowl for a quick dusting.
Layer all the coated dough balls in a well-buttered bundt pan.
Try to arrange them as evenly as possible staggering them slightly so they aren’t stacked exactly on top of each other.
Let the monkey bread rise until very puffy. This step is crucial! Rising long enough here ensures a light and fluffy pull-apart monkey bread that is irresistible (as compared to heavy dense pieces of monkey bread that will only make you very sad).
Bake until golden and then turn out onto a serving tray or plate. While still a little bit warm, drizzle with the glaze. It will sneak into all the little nooks and crannies giving an extra boost to the ooey, gooey charm of this best-ever monkey bread.
Serve Warm
Without a doubt, this cinnamon sugar monkey bread is best served warm.
In fact, when I make it, my family helps devour it before it even has a chance to think about cooling off completely. The nibbly, bite-size, pull-apart pieces are irresistible.
There are hundreds of comments below of people who have tried variations or baked in different types of pans. Read through them for a whole heck of a lot of monkey bread inspiration!
Rave Reviews for Monkey Bread
This recipe has been receiving extremely high praise for over ten years. It really is the best monkey bread recipe.
Isabella: 10/10 love this!!!! Will make again
Sam: I am in love! Someone else commented that these taste like the center of a cinnamon roll and that is spot on. These are pillowy soft and indulgent. Your instructions were clear and I was able to create a picture perfect dessert. My family was certainly impressed. I must thank you so much for this recipe. I will be making these again and again for sure!
Amanda: Every piece tastes like the inside of a cinnamon roll, heaven!! I will never use biscuits again! Thanks for another winner.
Raquel: I made this for the first time today, and it was amazing. I did the make ahead method, and every step is informative and helpful. This really was the most delicious monkey bread I’ve ever had, It has a caramelized flavor that just keeps you going back for more. Wonderful Recipe!
FAQ for Monkey Bread:
Yes! Follow the recipe through step #5. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place the pan in the refrigerator before letting the monkey bread rise up to 12-18 hours. A couple hours before you want to bake it, remove the pan from the refrigerator and let the monkey bread come to room temperature and rise until puffy and risen 1-2 inches below the top of the pan (this exact measurement will depend on the dimensions of the Bundt pan you are using). Bake as directed in step #7 and proceed with the recipe. You can speed up the rising process by placing the refrigerated monkey bread into a warm oven (not warm enough it will bake the bread! just warm enough to help the rising – I preheat my oven to 170 degrees and then once it reaches temperature, I turn it off but keep the oven light on).
I have never baked this in another size/style of pan, but you could definitely experiment with a 9X13-inch pan for more of a rectangular presentation or split the dough into two loaf pans. I do not recommend an angel food cake pan; the sugar/butter mixture will leak out the bottom and make a big mess.
Yes.
The Best Monkey Bread
Ingredients
For the pan:
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
Dough:
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) melted butter
- 1 cup warm milk (about 105 to 110 degrees F)
- ⅓ cup warm water (about 105 to 110 degrees F)
- ¼ cup (53 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- 3 ¼ cups (462 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
Brown Sugar Coating:
- 1 cup (212 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, melted
Glaze:
- 1 cup (114 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- In a large measuring cup or bowl, mix together the milk, water, melted butter, sugar, and yeast.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the milk mixture. Increase to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth, 5 to 7 minutes. Add additional flour a couple tablespoons at a time only if the dough is sticking to the bottom of the sides of the bowl. After kneading, the dough should be soft, supple and slightly sticky without leaving a lot of dough residue on your fingers.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let the dough rise until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.
- Spread the softened butter evenly in a 12-cup bundt pan, using a pastry brush or piece of wax or parchment paper to ensure all the nooks and crannies of the pan are well-buttered. Set aside.
- Lightly punch down the dough. On a very lightly floured or greased countertop, press the dough into a thick rectangle or square, about 8 or 9 inches across. Use a bench scraper or pizza cutter to cut the dough into 64 small pieces.
- Roll each piece into a round ball shape. It doesn't have to be perfect.
- Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl or shallow dish.
- Dip the dough pieces in melted butter and then roll evenly in the sugar mixture. Place the dough pieces in the prepared Bundt pan, offsetting the dough balls so they aren't stacked exactly on top of each other. .
- Cover the Bundt pan and let the bread rise until noticeably puffy and nearly doubled, 1 to 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the bundt pan and bake until the bread is golden brown and the bread is baked through, 30 to 35 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the bread should read 190 to 200 degrees F.
- Cool the monkey bread in the pan for no longer than 5 minutes (any longer and the bread will be too sticky and hard to remove!). Turn the bread onto a platter.
- In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar and milk together until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the top and sides of the warm monkey bread. Serve warm.
Notes
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Cook’s Illustrated
Recipe originally posted Oct. 2012; updated Jan. 2024 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Hi,
I made this a few days ago and it was such a hit. SO good. As a note, I didn’t use anywhere near a whole stick of melted butter when dipping. I probably used half a stick at most. But man, this was great. Thanks for a keeper recipe!
Tracy
Mel, I just wanted to tell you that this is one of the best recipes that I have ever made. It is so good! 5 stars!!
Madeline
I’m making this for the second time now. You and I know it is absolutely delicious, but I’m still converting my kids. Sadly, I have to retrain their taste buds to appreciate the homemade goodness instead of the store bought convenience. On a side note, they have finally begun to realize how good air-popped popcorn is over microwave! (that one took a couple years!)
Air popped??? How about in a pot with olive oil! The really good old-fashioned way. Nothing beats it, Cindy; please try it if you’ve never had it. It doesn’t even need butter, just sea salt (but is extra decadent if you do use it).
Can I get this recipe with metric equivalents?
Thanks
Hi Ken – I’m not an expert in converting the ingredients to metric but there are several online calculators you can google and get the equivalents. Good luck!
I love this recipe! I’ve made the monkey bread several times. But what I love so much is the dough–I have used it for sticky buns, ham & cheese pinwheels, Stromboli & pepperoni rolls. It works in both sweet and savory applications. This dough recipe has never failed me. I get compliments every time I make it–no mater how I use it.
Just made this and it is ACTUALLY INCREDIBLE!!! Thanks Mel!
Another fun way to do thus, that bakes faster and preps faster, is to divide the dough into roll size (15-20 per batch) then divide each roll into 6 pieces, all rough chopped, take that flat pile and dip it into the butter, turning a few times to coat, then same for the brown sugar mixture, then plop the pile into one muffin tin hole, repeating for each individual monkey bread “roll”. It ends up being faster, and baking more evenly, and you get more Carmelites edges each;)
A little history on where “Monkey Bread” came from. Many maintain it was the creation of silent film actress ZaSu Pitts and her neighbor, Ann King, a Texas housewife who moved to Burbank during the 1940s after her husband landed a job at Lockheed Martin. The women reportedly named the bread after the neighborhood children, little meddling “monkeys” who couldn’t keep their fingers out of the steaming fresh-from-the-oven bread. (King opened a bakery specializing in monkey bread shortly after she returned to Albany, Texas.) Ann King opened a bakery in my hometown of Albany, Texas. I grew up on this bread. Albany is a small town North of Abilene with a population of less than 2000. She was the sweetest lady and we visited her bakery weekly.
Woahhhh… This ain’t monkey business!!!
The whole family requested this before even finishing it. This is a slam dunk.
Thanks Mel for sharing all these amazing recipes with us. You got yourself a french canadian fan. Merci!
Hi! Knew I could come here and find something to bake on the first snowy day. Just FYI the print button isn’t working on this recipe.
I made this today for my 5 year old’s birthday breakfast. I never really make the “other” kind because I feel like the pudding AND sugar and stuff just makes it too sweet for breakfast. Perfect start to a happy day! P.S. I made the dough late last night and popped it in the fridge and then assembled the rest this morning. I will plan ahead better and will do the cutting and coating the night before next time. Thanks!
Just as a follow up, this recipe is WAY better than my Mum’s. The individualised dipping of each piece in butter and then the cinnamon/sugar is essential for gooey, delicious Monkey bread. My family will be converted this Christmas when I make this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
After reading through the comments about this being prepared in advance or frozen, my family makes this every year for Christmas morning. I made this particular recipe (which rocks!) last weekend when we had houseguests and I wanted to prepare it beforehand. I made the monkey bread in full, dipped in the sugar and froze it before the second rising (wrapped well in saran and foil). The night before serving I removed from the freezer and let it thaw overnight in the oven with a loose covering of saran and a tea towel. Remove from the oven while it heats and bake as normal. My aunt, who is a professional baker also says that you could refrigerate it overnight, pop it in the oven in the morning as it heats to temperature and then bake for the 30-35 mins. This is what she does with her cinnamon rolls and it works like a charm.
WOW Thank You so much ! I have been searching all over for a recipe that was with homemade dough, this looks amazing I can’t wait to try it out.
I’ve tried the monkey bread recipe and everybody loved it, its was incredible the taste the looks u name it!!! wonderful…BUT I did it today and dont know what happened but it didnt come out the way it supposed to…what could have happened..I follow the recipe exactly like it is..???????/
Georgina – unfortunately, without being right there in the kitchen with you and without a lot of details, I can’t determine what went wrong. Hopefully it works out if you try it again!
Made this tonight so my boys (hubby and 10-year-old son) would have a quick breakfast befor they leave for a company pool party tomorrow. Oh.my.goodness! House smells like a combo of Cinnabon and Wetzel’s Pretzels 🙂 Tomorrow it’s brownie time. Yum!
I LOVE this recipe. I made it for the first time this past winter as a dessert to go with our chili, and we ate every single bit of it that night. I am in the process of making it again today. I will NEVER used canned biscuits for monkey bread again! So worth the extra effort.
FINALLY!! A monkey bread recipe that DOESN’T call for canned biscuit dough! You are the best for posting this and we can’t wait to try it out!
I am so confused? You said.. on October 12, 2012 at 10:27 am
Hey everyone, the make ahead option is a great idea and one I’ll be employing on Christmas. I haven’t tried it yet but my plan.is to make the bread, coat the dough balls, place them in the pan, cover tightly with the Saran wrap and place it in the fridge overnight. I’ll take it out 2 to 3 horse before baking then bake as directed. Once I actually try the make ahead, I’ll update the recipe.
Umm I don’t recall 2 or three or any horses in this recipe? lol
Mel- Did it work to do this overnight when you tried it?
Thanks!
Hey Lillie – sorry that I haven’t updated this recipe yet with the make-ahead. I have made it the night before several times with good results (I think the best it has ever tasted was when I made it start to finish without the overnight rest but I like the make-ahead option). One of the times, I let the dough rise too much out of the refrigerator and it kind of fell while baking so I would just keep an eye on the dough after it comes out of the refrigerator in the morning. Otherwise, it works great.
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! I made these for my dad this last father’s day because he is a total cinnamon roll nut. He said he preferred this to the cinnamon rolls I made on his birthday, simple, gooey, deliciousness. I tried the tip and made it the night before and set it out a couple hours before I made it and it worked great! My siblings keep begging for more!
Can I make the dough in my bread machine??
Hi Megan – I don’t know since I’ve never used a bread machine – as long as the quantities (flour/water) fit into your bread machine, it should work though.
This is the BEST monkey bread recipe ever! I made it once for my uncle when he came down to visit my family, and we all loved it! Also, this makes enough to go around! There was my uncle, my 5 other siblings, and my mom and dad, and we had enough to stuff ourselves with this delicious meal!
I came back to leave my review.
DELICIOUS! I am totally impressed. The dough made an amazingly soft fluffy roll. And taking the time to coat each one makes every single bite scrumptious!
I had some leftover brown butter icing from some cinnamon rolls last week so I just used that in place of yours. I will be making this again, and will definitely try the overnight method too.
Thanks Mel!
Hi Mel!
I am going to try this today. I have made this with frozen dough as others have commented. I always used butterscotch pudding though.
I’m interested to taste the difference.
My hubby loves the caramel like flavor the pudding gives it, so we will see if this wins him over.
Thanks for all your delicious recipes. I’m so glad you feel a need to share them with the world!
Searched on the web for monkey bread but all usually ended up just scanning the recipe for the words Pillsbury or refrigerated biscuit dough…..no thank you!! Your recipe sounds really good. will have to try it out. Thanks
I just put this in the oven and had a quick question:
Do you think it would still be good without the glaze on top? I’m making this for my boyfriend, and he’s pretty picky about things like that. He doesn’t like anything complicated, just a “pure” taste of cinnamon and brown sugar. Anyone with tips would be appreciated!
And thank you SO SO much for this incredible recipe! Everything is better when made from scratch, and I’m thrilled someone else shares this philosophy! I am definitely subscribing to your incredible blog 🙂
Hi Katie, I love the glaze on this because it keeps the monkey bread moist and sweet. What did you end up doing?
I made this today and OMG was it ever amazing. I am sooooo full! As we were eating it, my friend Erin said she’s worshiping me today.
I made a half batch since there were only 3 people eating it and I placed the balls in a regular loaf pan. It was perfect. Just perfect. I will definitely be making this again and again. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe.
MMM! Just a tip, to raise breads I put the bowl in the microwave with the door almost closed but the light keeps a gentle continuous warmth. Thanks!
I just glazed your Monkey Bread recipe! OMG! So good! We are having a bake sale tomorrow and I wanted to make something different. It is so worth the effort. My son and I had to sample it before I will package it up and we cleaned our plate in no time! Thank you for an excellent recipe!!!
Um. Yes. I made these this morning for my 9 year old daughter’s overnight birthday party guests. The search is OVER. Fabulosity at it’s finest. Instead of the glaze, however, I thinned a bit of leftover homemade cream cheese frosting I had on hand (from some caramel rolls I baked this past weekend) with cream. Drizzled it over the top. Oh man. Watch out, we were fighting over the last pieces. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Oh- because of my super, super humid climate (like 90%+ humidity all the time), I had to add a lot of extra flour; at least one cup. Still worked out great!
I made this today and we all LOVED it!!! Just a few thoughts- mine stuck so badly to the pan, although I waited exactly 5 minutes to turn it out. I think it was because I used my old bundt pan, which has no non-stick coating like my newer ones. In this case, it would have been good to flour it after using the butter, and maybe even turning it out a few minutes earlier. Because it stuck, it didn’t turn out all nice and clean in the shape of the pan, but just fell apart. The kids said it was “eaiser to eat that way” though, lol! There was leftover butter after dipping the dough balls, so I used it in the icing; mixing it with about 1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar and a drop of milk. It made thicker, delicious icing that was wonderful. I would cover the bundt pan with foil the last 5-10 minutes of baking because the top was burning a little. Wonderful recipe; will have to make again sometime!
Finally a monkey bread recipe that does not use prepackaged dough (I hate that stuff). So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you!!
Wow. This recipe was easy to follow. My three year old and I had a blast making it. The end product looked just like the picture and tasted delicious! My husband couldn’t believe we had made it. Thanks for the inspiration.
I just made this monkey bread for my boyfriend to take back to college with him and it was a huge hit with he and his roommate! Such easy home made bread too, it was a piece of cake to put together. I ended up using about three times the brown sugar mixture though. I’m not sure why but my dough really ate it up. Either way, it was delicious, I’ll never use premade dough again. Thanks for sharing this!!
I made this fantastic Monkey Bread recipe on Christmas Eve for a family who had 19 people staying at their home over the holidays. It was a huge hit, and they said it was polished off in a few short minutes. I thought the recipe was easy to follow, especially since I’m not an experienced bread maker, and I would definitely make this again. I did increase the glaze by half again what the glaze recipe calls for – mmmmm…extra yumminess! Thanks for a great treat.
I made this for Christmas morning and it was mouth wateringly delicious! My husband eats some and looked at me and said, “You’ve been holding out on me!” I have to work at the hospital at 6 am on New Year’s Day and I’m making some tonight to take in with me in the morning, it’s the only thing that could get me going to work that early!
Hey these were amazing!! Will definitely make again! But what are the calories in one serving
Merry Christmas! About to put the monkey bread in the oven. I made it yesterday afternoon, had in the fridge all night. One hour in warm oven and it’s ready to go. Yeah.
I made this for breakfast today. I made most of it last night – all the way up to rolling the dough into the butter and cinnamon mixture just like Mel explained. Then, I covered it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge over night. In the morning, I set it out on the counter for two hours and cooked at 350 for 30 minutes. It turned out perfectly.
These are rising in the fridge right now so they are ready for Christmas morning. I was in a hurry so I put the melted butter in a gallon sized bag, put in the rolls without rolling them, shook it up, added the sugar mix & shook again. It worked great, & was fast!
I made this today. It was absolutely wonderful.
Definitely, DEFINITELY worth the effort.
These are great! And yes, they can be made the night before. I started dough in the afternoon, then left it to rise (more than 2 hours because that’s how my schedule was). Made the little balls (cutting with a pizza cutter), drizzled with butter (probably only used 1/2 stick of butter) & rolled them in brn. sugar/cinnamon (less there also). Covered with plastic wrap & refrigerated. Got them out around 6 a.m. & put them in the oven at 7:30. Drizzled with the glaze (only used about half a cup confectioners sugar) & they were a big hit! So much better than canned biscuits & really not much more work. I do tend to cut out some sugar & butter when I bake & these were still VERY GOOD with about half. Only need about 1 T. for buttering pan also. I will use this recipe for Christmas morning but perhaps can’t wait that long to make again:) I may also try with half white whole wheat flour next time to sneak in a little more nutrition.
beautiful monkey bread!
Omg this looks incredible! I just made honey dinner rolls and saw this on a Bread pin board – repinned!
This sounds INCREDIBLE!!! – will definitely be part of my holiday baking! Thanks for sharing!!!
I have never heard of people making this with biscuits, that is just wrong. I can’t wait to try this. The recipe I have used for years is from The Lion House and it is so yummy, but has boxed pudding in it. This is a better option.
I made this tonight and it was delicious!! I hate to admit that I’ve been making the canned biscuit kind for years. But this really was amazing and I will be making it this way forever more:)
My. Oh. My. This was amazing, so yummy!!! I’m so glad we made it today, thanks!
I’ve made this multiple times and even my picky kid BEGS for it! Very time consuming but worth every step. My family likes to pair it with ice cream 🙂